Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Fulton trail those of 92% of U.S. towns
Fulton grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 14.8% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, against 16% across Illinois.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Fulton: the gist
Many Fulton workers cross into Iowa
60% of Fulton workers work outside Illinois, most of them in Iowa, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Fulton live in another state
Clinton, IA (23%) and Camanche, IA (2%) are among the top places Fulton’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 25% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Fulton are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Fulton makes and builds things
54% of the jobs based in Fulton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fulton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 30%. The jobs ↓
Fulton and Clinton trade workers both ways
Clinton is the top workplace for Fulton residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Fulton come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Fulton earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fulton is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #665 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Fulton’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($45,581, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fulton could be anywhere from D to B.
30% of working residents work in Clinton
Where Fulton clocks in
30% of workers
4% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Fulton’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fulton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,456 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Fulton works in goods: 54% of its jobs
1,230 jobs are based in Fulton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fulton, 2013 → 2023: 1,228 → 1,230. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fulton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Fulton
On a workday 1,393 residents head out to work, 276 work right here, and 954 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Fulton on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far Fulton’s workers travel
About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Fulton, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fulton is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #414 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,548 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.8% of Fulton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fulton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,355 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800, Fulton comes 3,322nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Lakewood IL | 4,293 | $174K | 3.5% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,320 | Mount Olive Township IL | 3,019 | $63K | 12.6% | 6.1% | 6% | C− |
| 3,321 | San Miguel CA | 3,227 | $95K | 27.0% | 5.9% | 2% | C− |
| 3,322 | Fulton IL | 3,540 | $46K | 14.8% | 4.8% | 17% | C− |
| 3,323 | Hardin MT | 3,696 | $60K | 7.2% | 5.6% | 46% | C− |
| 3,324 | Bristow OK | 4,381 | $39K | 29.1% | 3.1% | 20% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Fulton, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
30% of Fulton works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fulton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton | – | C− | B+ | 16 min | $45,581 |
| Fulton Township | under 2% | C− | B+ | 17 min | $48,878 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Clinton. Darker towns draw more of Fulton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fulton: questions
What is the median household income in Fulton?
$45,581 (±$9,760) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fulton?
14.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fulton?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fulton work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clinton (30%, 5 mi), Davenport (4%, 31 mi), Camanche (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fulton walkable?
Fulton is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fulton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fulton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fulton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.